INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 190 member countries. Our role is to enable police around the world to work together to make the world a safer place. Our high-tech infrastructure of technical and operational support helps meet the growing challenges of fighting crime in the 21st century.

This is where you will find the latest news and multimedia from INTERPOL. Read our news stories and speeches; see the Organization in action through videos and photo galleries; and download our fact sheets, brochures and annual reports.

Our global police communications channels and internationally recognized alert systems allow police around the world to share data instantly and securely. A 24-hour contact point and specialized teams provide targeted support to serious crime or disaster incidents.

Border management

Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database

INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database enables INTERPOL National Central Bureaus and other authorized law enforcement entities (such as immigration and border control officers) to ascertain the validity of a travel document in seconds.

The SLTD database was created in 2002, following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, to help member countries secure their borders and protect their citizens from terrorists and other dangerous criminals using fraudulent travel documents.

Starting with a few thousand records from just 10 countries, the SLTD database has grown exponentially: as of March 2014, it contains information on more than 40 million travel documents (passports, identity documents, visas) reported lost or stolen by 167 countries.

Law enforcement officials at INTERPOL National Central Bureaus and other locations with access to INTERPOL’s databases through the ﻿I-24/7 secure global police communication system – such as airports and border crossings – can query the passports of individuals travelling internationally against the SLTD, and immediately determine if the document has been reported as lost or stolen so they can take the necessary actions.

The database was searched by member countries more than 800 million times in 2013, resulting in some 67,000 positive responses, or ‘hits’.

Records

Searches

Contributing countries

2013

39,519,010

808,999,283

166

2012

35,320,073

739,857,702

166

2011

31,257,849

679,877,481

161

2010

23,985,965

499,885,216

154

2009

19,857,921

326,355,744

147

2008

16,706.281

76,541,088

145

2007

13,921,191

20,362,042

133

2006

13,297,631

4,819,907

121

2005

8,954,461

212,875

91

2004

5,667,505

21,091

65

2003

299,264

1,486

35

2002

3,900

145

10

Details of stolen and lost passports are submitted directly to the STLD database by INTERPOL NCBs and law enforcement agencies via INTERPOL’s I-24/7 system. Only the country which issued a document can add it to the database.

INTERPOL is therefore not automatically notified of all passport thefts occurring worldwide, and the SLTD database is not connected to national lists of stolen or lost passports. As such, information on national statistics must be requested directly from the country in question.

In order to increase the use of the SLTD database worldwide, INTERPOL encourages each member country to extend access to the I-24/7 network – and through it access to its criminal databases including the STLD – to major airports, border crossings and other strategic locations. This requires the installation of technical equipment or specialized software.

Despite the potential availability of the STLD database, not all countries systematically search the database to determine whether an individual is using a fraudulent passport.

To help identify and stop criminals from using lost or stolen travel documents long before they get to the airport or the border, INTERPOL has developed ﻿I-Checkit . The initiative will allow private sector partners in the travel, hotel and banking industries to screen customers’ documents against the SLTD database when they book a plane ticket, check into a hotel or open a bank account. A positive ‘hit’ will be relayed to law enforcement, to take any necessary actions.

WASHINGTON DC, USA – INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock has highlighted the role effective information sharing and border management can play via the world police body’s global network against the global threat of foreign terrorist fighters.
&nbsp;Addressing a ministerial session during the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, the INT...

RIGA, Latvia – Attending today’s meeting of EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Latvia, INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock said a global effort is required to address the internal security needs of the European Union (EU) against the threat of foreign fighters.The Head of the world police body said INTERPOL stands ready to help EU member states...

NICE, France&nbsp; – INTERPOL’s Turn Back Crime campaign is reaching new heights with the delivery of a specially liveried AirAsia plane.For its inaugural flight, AirAsia’s Airbus A320 touched down at Nice airport in France just hours before the start of the world police body’s General Assembly in Monaco which this year has the theme, ‘Turn Back Crime: 10...

CHISINAU, Moldova – Secretary General Ronald K. Noble has underlined Moldova’s commitment to INTERPOL and the wider law enforcement community as the country marked the 20th anniversary of its membership of the world police body.At a meeting with Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca, the INTERPOL Chief said the country was at ‘the forefront’ of internation...

AMMAN, Jordan – A joint INTERPOL and European Union project to help strengthen security across Jordan by providing frontline officers with access to INTERPOL’s global tools and services has been launched in Amman.Project Estijab, which means ‘response’ in Arabic, will see the expansion of access to INTERPOL’s secure global police communications system, kn...

UNITED NATIONS, New York – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously adopted a Resolution recognizing the efforts of INTERPOL against the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters, including through global law enforcement information sharing.Resolution 2178 (2014), which was submitted during a special session of the UNSC chaired by US Pr...

DOHA, Qatar – INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble has strongly condemned the murder of British aid worker David Haines at the hands of militants belonging to the Islamic State group.Speaking during an official visit to Doha where he met Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and other Qatari officials to discuss regional and intern...

NIAMEY, Niger – During his first mission to Niger, INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble unveiled a EUR 1 million programme to strengthen border management in Western and Central Africa.The 12-month INTERPOL Capacity Building Programme to Strengthen Border Management in West Africa project will focus on assisting law enforcement agencies throughout t...

“I know that everything has been done to ensure my safety and prevent anyone using a stolen passport from boarding my international flight.”Following INTERPOL’s&nbsp; announcement a week ago today that AirAsia would become the first airline to verify passengers’ passports against INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents&nbsp; database, this statement i...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – As part of ongoing efforts to enhance international travel security, AirAsia is to pilot INTERPOL’s I-Checkit system to screen the passports of all its prospective passengers against the world police body’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database.Once implemented later this month the pilot project will see AirAsia become...

UNITED NATIONS, New York – A meeting between INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble and UN Chief&nbsp;Ban Ki-moon provided an opportunity for the two world bodies to further their close cooperation. Earlier, Mr Noble told a UN counter-terrorism briefing that global action on preventing and combating terrorism must look to enhance travel document secur...

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands – More than 180 people were arrested or detained during an operation, coordinated by Europol and supported by INTERPOL, at airports across Europe and the Americas to tackle credit card fraud and illegal immigration.The two-day (8 and 9 April) operation involved law enforcement agencies from across the world, with support from th...

LYON, France – INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau in Tehran has confirmed the identity of two Iranian nationals who used authentic passports to travel to Kuala Lumpur before using stolen Austrian and Italian passports to board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370.INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said the two men’s identities were confirmed by...

LYON, France ‒ INTERPOL can confirm that at least two passports – Austrian and Italian – recorded in its Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database were used by passengers on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370.The Austrian and Italian passports were added to INTERPOL’s SLTD database after their theft in Thailand in 2012 and 2013 respectiv...

GENEVA, Switzerland – An agreement between INTERPOL and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will see enhanced cooperation between the two bodies on border security to better combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling.Signed by INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble and IOM Director General William Lacy Swing, the agreement formalise...

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Trends such as the rise in international travel have led to an increase in identity theft, and law enforcement must collaborate with the private sector to protect citizens, the Head of INTERPOL told an international forum on identity security.
&nbsp;
Speaking at the seventh Annual ID WORLD Summit (24 and 25 February), IN...

LYON, France – A check against INTERPOL’s databases as part of security operations surrounding the Southeast (SEA) Games in Myanmar has led to the identification and arrest of a US fugitive in the Philippines.The 45-year-old man, the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice for internationally wanted persons issued at the request of NCB Washington for financial...

LYON, France – An agreement to extend access to INTERPOL’s tools and services to key border points in six Central African countries has been concluded by INTERPOL and the Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale (CEMAC).Signed by CEMAC President Pierre Moussa and INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble, the agreement provides a framewor...

YALTA, Ukraine – Cybercrime, counterfeit products and the ever-increasing movement of people and goods in both the real and virtual worlds pose a significant threat to global safety and security, the head of INTERPOL warned today.Speaking at the 10th Yalta Annual Meeting in Ukraine, Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said the trade in fake and illicit good...

CONSTANTA, Romania – Under the umbrella of the INTERPOL Integrated Border Management Task Force (IBMTF), INTERPOL has assisted Frontex in an operation to check travel documents used by passengers travelling through the Romanian port of Constanta, a major port on the Black Sea.Frontex, the European Union agency for external border security, deployed intern...

LYON, France – A new police tool has been launched by INTERPOL and the G8, enabling the INTERPOL community to exchange information on fraudulent identity and travel documents.
Known as Dial-Doc (Digital INTERPOL Alert Library – Document), the technology makes it easy for officials in any of INTERPOL’s 190 member countries to check if a travel document is...

LYON, France – More than 70 kg of sodium chlorate, a chemical precursor used in Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), have been seized during INTERPOL-coordinated border security operations in Southeast Asia.Bags containing the chemicals were discovered in a van by Thai Customs officials in Songhkla Province, in southern Thailand as part of Operation Hawk...

LYON, France – A partnership agreement will see Morpho (Safran) provide INTERPOL with a range of innovative biometric solutions and other technical support to enhance global security. The partnership covers the supply of automated biometric identification systems to INTERPOL, provision of state-of-the-art security solutions for the future INTERPOL Global...

LYON, France – Nearly 30 tonnes of cocaine, heroin and marijuana with an estimated value of USD 822 million have been seized in an INTERPOL-led operation targeting the maritime trafficking of drugs and illicit firearms by organized crime groups across Central America and the Caribbean.Operation Lionfish, coordinated by INTERPOL’s Regional Bureau for Centr...

KIGALI, Rwanda – An international police operation carried out at Kigali International Airport by Rwanda national police in co-ordination with INTERPOL has seen the verification of thousands of passports in an effort to target criminal networks and illegal immigrants attempting to use fraudulent documents to enter the country.Co-ordinated by INTERPOL’s Tr...